Automotive vehicles typically employ an intermediate shaft, also known in the art as an I-shaft, between the steering column and steering gear for the purpose of transmitting rotational motion of the steering wheel to the steering gear. Such intermediate shafts are commonly connected with the steering gear and steering column by means of universal joints or other types of flexible joints. A bearing and seal assembly according to the present invention is intended to provide support to such an intermediate shaft, while sealing vehicle compartment against environmental contamination and noise at the point at which the intermediate shaft transverses the firewall or the vehicle front of dash panel.
The present bearing and seal assembly is intended to provide a vibration-free, rotatable, sealed support for a steering intermediate shaft, further adapted to accommodate slight irregularities in the outside diameter of the intermediate shaft, with reduced complexity and cost of manufacture, and improved reliability, compared to bearing and seal assemblies known to the art.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,895,391 discloses a combination bearing and seal assembly that claims to be capable of accommodating a shaft having a varying diameter. This patent, however, utilizes a needle bearing, which can result in customer dissatisfaction due to noise issues, is complex and expensive to manufacture compared to the present invention, and which also suffers reduced reliability compared to the present invention.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an automotive steering intermediate shaft bearing and seal assembly which not only supports an intermediate shaft but which also excludes environmental factors such as road noise and contamination from the passenger compartment and from the bearing assembly itself.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an intermediate shaft bearing and seal assembly which will accommodate minor angular misalignments occurring between the intermediate shaft and the aperture through the front of dash panel or vehicle firewall in which the bearing is mounted.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a steering intermediate shaft bearing and seal assembly which accommodates shafts having minor variations in their outer diameter.
It is yet a further advantage of the present invention to provide a monolithic bearing for such an intermediate shaft bearing and seal assembly that has reduced costs of manufacture and reduced complexity and improved reliability compared to bearings, and particularly needle bearings, known to the art for this application. Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading this disclosure.